A man is in custody after police say he stole a van with the owner inside and then drove from Fort Worth to Dallas Friday morning. The owner of the van is OK after witnesses called 911 to report seeing a person in the back of the van yelling for help.
According to Fort Worth Police, a man called 911 at about 7:42 a.m. and said his boyfriend was acting erratically while trying to take his van near the intersection of Riverside Drive and East Lancaster Avenue.
The call was disconnected, but minutes later operators were able to get the man back on the phone. He told them there had been a struggle and that he was now in the back of his van and that it had been stolen.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
The man then told police his location as the driver headed toward Interstate 30 and then eastbound toward Dallas.
“He’s driving crazy. On the highway," the caller can be heard telling 911 dispatchers in recorded audio.
Police said the van's owner stayed on the phone with operators and tried to let them know where he was as the man drove out of Fort Worth and into Arlington. The driver continued east through Grand Prairie and into Dallas where he stopped near Linfield Road and Illinois Avenue.
Fort Worth Police said they were also able to use their Real Time Crime Center to locate the van and relay that information to Dallas Police. As Dallas Police arrived, the driver was outside of the vehicle and was taken into custody.
"At around 8:51 a.m., Dallas Police located the van and two minutes later notified Fort Worth Police that the 29-year-old male suspect was taken into custody," police said.
Fort Worth Police identified the man who allegedly took the van as Takim Allah Peden. Police said Peden was taken into custody on an "out-of-town" warrant and is expected to face charges including unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and aggravated kidnapping causing bodily injury, the latter a 1st-degree felony.
Police said the van's owner, whose name has not yet been released, was given a medical exam and was interviewed by detectives and is "doing good."
Fort Worth Police Officer Buddy Calzada said there were several 911 calls from concerned citizens who reported a white van speeding and swerving in and out of lanes. Callers also told 911 operators they saw the man in the back window yelling for help and trying to get their attention.
"At one point, a caller stated that the back door had swung open while the suspect continued to drive dangerously," police said.
Those calls, Calzada said, corrected information originally dispatched to officers that the van was red in color. The information was misheard during the 911 call and was able to be corrected thanks to tips from citizens.
Calzada added, "It is important to remember, 'If you see something, say something."
If you or someone you know is the victim of intimate partner violence, please consider reaching out to one of the following resources at no cost:
- National Domestic Violence Hotline -- thehotline.org, 1-800-7997233, TTY: 1-800-787-3224
- SafeHaven of Tarrant County -- safehaventc.org, 1-877-701-7233
- One Safe Place -- onesafeplace.org, 1-817-916-4323
- The Women’s Center of Tarrant County -- womenscentertc.org, crisis and victim hotline 817-927-2737
- Texas Health and Human Services -- hhs.texas.gov
FORT WORTH POLICE
Sign up for our Breaking Newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
